Suozzi Finally Gets Meeting with New FAA Administrator, Stephen Dickson

Today, Congressman Tom Suozzi (D - Long Island, Queens), in his capacity as Vice Co-Chair of Quiet Skies Caucus, met with the new Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Stephen Dickson, who took the helm in August 2019. The meeting was the direct result of a letter that Suozzi wrote to Administrator Dickson in August requesting that members of the Quiet Skies Caucus be briefed on outstanding FAA projects related to aircraft noise, including a now long- and continuously-delayed FAA study reevaluating the threshold for noise mitigation activities.

“I am very frustrated with the FAA. It is a failed bureaucracy that is unresponsive to the needs of my constituents. I recognize the preeminence of local safety concerns, however, the FAA in concert with the Air Traffic Controllers had developed a plan to address safety and mitigate aircraft noise. That plan must now be implemented,” said Suozzi. “I would like to thank Administrator Dickson for meeting with my colleagues and me. Now that there is a permanent Administrator at the helm, the FAA must advance concrete actions that will address and mitigate the aircraft noise that has been impacting our communities for so long.”

Since April 1, 2019, thousands of Suozzi’s constituents have been enduring a significant increase in aircraft noise due to reconstruction of one of JFK’s four runways. After multiple meetings with Suozzi and other elected officials, the FAA officials signed off on an agreement which included several regulatory updates that would have helped decrease aircraft noise.

However, just days after FAA officials signed off on the agreement, on June 13, 2019, they reversed this decision stating in part that the new regulations “require additional internal evaluation” and that “the FAA will coordinate with stakeholders before it makes any decision to implement them.” It has now been more than 130 days since this postponement and, despite multiple attempts, Suozzi has not gotten a straight answer on when these regulations will be administered.

Congressman Suozzi remains committed to working with the FAA and fellow members of Congress to help Americans who are plagued by aircraft noise.